Words and Pictures: Adrian Hextall / (C) MindHex Media
It’s the start of another batch of dates. Running across October and November 2024, Ginger Wildheart keeps the band’s name and legacy ticking over quite nicely while we, the fans, wait for news of the release of the new studio album and follow up live, electric shows that we so desperately crave. Current lead guitarist with The Wildhearts, Ben Marsden, plays alongside Ginger for all dates with the pairing clearly working judging by the wide smile across both of their faces throughout the show in London. Of course that could also be down to the third member of the band onstage throughout the show, Ginger’s beloved Border Collie, Maggie.
With, as is the norm these days, multiple gigs on in the Camden area on the same night, we were late to the party and as such missed the ever reliable Boss Caine, aka Daniel Lucas who opened the evening. I didn’t even need to ask to know I’d missed a treat but given I was at the Underworld covering another show, the Boss Man will have to let me have a rain-check this time.
Ginger Wildheart \ Ben Marsden \ Maggie
The eagle-eyed among those in attendance will have also noticed the friendly face of Dunc looking after the instruments at the side of the stage in the Camden Club and Dunc’s presence also seems to bring a sense of calm to Ginger’s shows. Nothing that detracts from the performances but a presence that means the gigs will always be bang on. The sound, the instruments, the show. On time, on point and well, on-Dunc. He’s so well know by Ginger’s fanbase that he’s as much a part of proceedings that we’ve come to expect him at every show, always!
So with the key components in place, lights, camera, Dunc, the set from Ginger and Ben with the ever gorgeous Maggie helping out with the choruses at times, got underway. From the opening bars of ‘Geordie…’ the crowd swelled, the smiles appeared and the knowing looks took place between all present as a chorus of “SHIT!” sounded across the room as Ginger sang “some of the rose are covered in….”. These are songs we’ve grown up with, know inside out and more importantly, never get tired of hearing. It doesn’t matter whether or not the songs are played with a full band, an electric set, with the sort of light show that would put ELO to shame or whether its 2 blokes with 2 guitars and a dog. The live experience is all consuming and the crowd and the musicians know it. The upside of a more intimate gig like this… the crowd get to become part of the show. Ginger telling jokes , admitting that it’s difficult to recollect requested songs from the crowd when you’ve written something in the region of 650 (or so). Others… well not unexpectedly, after such a short time of playing these shows with Ginger, Ben Marsden also doesn’t know the back catalogue off by heart either.
What the pair do know (as does Maggie) are the 15 songs in the setlist, each one a bonafide classic. After ‘Geordie’, we got number after number to sing along to, and even ‘Sky Babies’ which doesn’t make so many live appearances with the electric band but always seems to get requested when Ginger does his solo shows.
With ‘Red Light – Green Light’ and personal favourite ’29x The Pain’ keeping the singalong quota as high as possible, the requests came thick and fast before ‘TV Tan’ was belted out to an ever appreciative crowd.
Smiles, anecdotes, a solitary whiskey for the man who’s not been drinking of late, and a load more hits, with Ben clearly enjoying every minute of the role that he appears to have been born to inherit. What more was there to like? I think they had it covered. There are more gigs up and down the country over the next few weeks. If you want a night out in good company, with good music in an intimate setting then you need to get you down to one of those shows.
Details of the other live dates can be found here:
https://gingerwildheart.net/live/
Setlist
Geordie in Wonderland
Weekend (5 Long Days)
The Miles Away Girl
Just in Lust
Sky Babies
Red Light – Green Light
29 x the Pain
TV Tan
Diagnosis
Vanilla Radio
Turning American
The Only One
Suckerpunch
Greetings From Shitsville
Loveshit